Recently, under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, the Tourism Ministry sanctioned 5 projects of Rs 325.53 crore for Buddhist circuit development. It has also organised a Buddhist Circuit Train FAM Tour as part of the Union government’s Dekho Apna Desh initiative. The tour covers the destinations Gaya-Bodhgaya, Rajgir-Nalanda in Bihar as well as Sarnath-Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Important points: Swadesh …

Recently, the National Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) has designated the combined areas of the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve. NTCA is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, established in 2005 for strengthening tiger conservation. Important points: It is located in the northern part of Chhattisgarh, bordering Madhya …

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Benjamin List and David MacMillan for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis. Last year, the honour went to Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer Doudna, for developing the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9 – DNA snipping “scissors”. Nobel prizes in physics and medicinefor 2021 have already been announced. Important points: They have developed a new and ingenious tool …

Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) endorsed the world’s first Malaria Vaccine in the hope that it will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease. Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable. Important points: RTS,S/AS01, trade …

Recently, the demand for the enactment of a legislation on the right to health has been revived in Rajasthan. The health activists have affirmed that the law would streamline medical services and guarantee the availability of essential facilities to citizens. Important points: The right to health, as with other rights, includes both …

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved the setting up of seven Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks at an outlay of Rs. 4,445 crore. The MITRA park aims to integrate the entire textile value chain from spinning, weaving, processing/dyeing, printing to garment manufacturing at one location. Important points: PM MITRA park will be …

On the Occasion of the World Teachers’ Day (5th October), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched its 2021 State of the Education Report (SOER) for India: “No Teacher, No Class”. Important points: The findings are largely based on analysis of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data (2018-19). …

Recently, scientists have developed a New biodegradable polymer, using Guar Gum, and Chitosan, which has high potential for packaging material. Important points:: It is a guar gum-chitosan composite film which is a cross-linked polysaccharide developed with the help of solution casting method (a simple technique to make polymer films). It overcomes the challenges of polysaccharides. Polysaccharides is one of the biopolymers …

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded with one half jointly to SyukuroManabe, Klaus Hasselmann and the other half to Giorgio Parisi “for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems.” This is the first time climate scientists (Manabe and Hasselmann) have been awarded the Physics Nobel. Last year, the award was given for …

Recently, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched a Heli-Borne Survey Technology for water management in the arid areas of Rajasthan. Important points: Developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), it will provide information about level, quantity, quality and information of ground water. The NGRI is a geoscientific research organization established in 1961 under …

A series of recent scams have exposed the vulnerabilities of the Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS). Important points: AePS is a bank led model which allows online interoperable financial transactions at PoS (Point of Sale/Micro ATM) through the Business Correspondent (BC)/Bank Mitra of any bank using the Aadhaar authentication. This system adds another layer of …

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has simplified the process for Indians who want to renounce their citizenship. Earlier, the Central Government issued a notificationgranting powers related to citizenship applications under existing rules to authorities of five states. Important points: Provisions have been made for applicants to upload documents online, with an upper limit of …

Recently, the Calcutta High Court has given West Bengal Assembly Speaker a deadline to pass an order in the defection case involving a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA). Anti-defection proceedings are also going on in other states such as Jharkhand and Rajasthan. Important points: The anti-defection law punishes individual Members of Parliament (MPs)/MLAs for leaving one …

Recently, a man was hit by a peafowl in Kerala after which he died. This incident has turned the spotlight on the increasing population of Indian peafowls in the state. Important points: The collective name for peacocks is peafowl. The male of the variety is called a peacock and the female peafowl is called a peahen. The Indian peacock is also …

Recently, two United States-based scientists, David Julius and ArdemPatapoutian, have been awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch. They have focused their work on the field of somatosensation, that is the ability of specialised organs such as eyes, ears and skin to see, hear and feel. Important points: David …

Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched a Drone-Based vaccine delivery model named, Drone Response and Outreach in North East (i-Drone). Drone is a layman terminology for Unmanned Aircraft (UA). There are three subsets of Unmanned Aircraft- Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Autonomous Aircraft and Model Aircraft. Important points: Indian Council …

Recently, Amazon has unveiled its ‘Astro’ home robot, which is designed to help customers with a range of tasks like home monitoring and keeping in touch with family. However, civil society has highlighted the concerns of privacy issues of 24×7 surveillance. Important points: Astro is primed to be a home security device. It is designed to move around the home and …

India has extended its support for protecting the Antarctic environment and for co-sponsoring the proposal of the European Union for designating East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The Southern Ocean, also called Antarctic Ocean, is a body of salt water covering approximately one-sixteenth of Earth’s total ocean area. Important points: In …

Recently, several prominent Indian names have been included in the Pandora Papers leak. There are over 300 Indian names in the leak, including over 60 prominent ones. Important points: Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked files from 14 global corporate services firms which set up about 29,000 off-the-shelf companies and private trusts. A trust can be described …

Recently, Hara Bhara, India’s first aerial seeding campaign in Telangana using the Seedcopter drone was launched. Earlier, in August 2015, Andhra Pradesh government had launched the aerial seeding programme using Indian Navy helicopters. Important points: The idea of the campaign is to accelerate the mission of reforestation by planting one billion trees using drones by 2030 in the country. The project uses drones to disperse seed …